Editing Sea state

{{Short description|General condition of the free surface on a large body of water}}
{{Redirect|State of the sea|the Venetian Empire|Stato da Màr}}
[[File:Wea00810.jpg|thumb|[[NOAA]] ship ''[[NOAAS Delaware II (R 445)|Delaware II]]'' in foul weather on [[Georges Bank]].]]
[[File:Figure 5- Wave Height of Different Sea States Compared to the National Security Cutter and a Cutter Boat (24718483131).jpg|thumb|Sea State 5 and 8 range]]
In [[oceanography]], '''sea state''' is the general condition of the [[free surface]] on a large body of water—with respect to [[wind wave]]s and [[Swell (ocean)|swell]]—at a certain location and moment. A sea state is characterized by [[statistic]]s, including the [[significant wave height|wave height]], [[period (physics)|period]], and [[wave spectrum|spectrum]]. The sea state varies with time, as the wind and swell conditions change. The sea state can be assessed either by an experienced observer (like a trained mariner) or by using instruments like [[weather buoy]]s, [[wave radar]] or [[remote sensing]] [[satellite]]s.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Holthuijsen |first=Leo H. |title=Waves in oceanic and coastal waters |date=2007 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-511-27021-5 |location=Cambridge}}</ref>

The short-term statistics describing the sea state are determined for a time interval in which the sea state is considered to be constant. This duration has to be much longer than the individual wave period, but shorter than the period in which the wind and swell conditions can be expected to vary significantly. Typically, the sea state is assumed to be constant for 15-30 minutes.<ref name=":0" />

The large number of variables involved in creating and describing the sea state cannot be quickly and easily summarized, so simpler scales are used to give an approximate but concise description of conditions for reporting in a ship's log or similar record.

== WMO sea state code==
[[File:Wasser über Deck und Luken WNA.png| thumb|Winter, North Atlantic – Water over deck and hatches, storm with huge waves (1958)]]
The [[World Meteorological Organization]] (WMO) sea state code largely adopts the 'wind sea' definition of the [[Douglas Sea Scale]].

[[File:Sea state code height.png|thumb|graphic of WMO sea state codes, descriptions, and wave heights in meters]]

{| class=wikitable
! WMO Sea State Code !! Wave height !! Characteristics
|-
| 0 || {{convert|0|m}} || Calm (glassy)
|-
| 1 || {{convert|0|to|0.1|m|in}} || Calm (rippled)
|-
| 2 || {{convert|0.1|to|0.5|m}} || Smooth (wavelets)
|-
| 3 || {{convert|0.5|to|1.25|m}} || Slight
|-
| 4 ||{{convert| 1.25|to|2.5|m}} || Moderate
|-
| 5 || {{convert|2.5|to|4|m}} || Rough
|-
| 6 || {{convert|4|to|6|m}} || Very rough
|-
| 7 || {{convert|6|to|9|m}} || High
|-
| 8 || {{convert|9|to|14|m}} || Very high
|-
| 9 || Over {{convert|14|m}} || Phenomenal
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Character of the sea swell
|-
| &nbsp; || 0. None
|-
| '''Low''' || 1. Short or average<br /> 2. Long
|-
| '''Moderate''' || 3. Short<br />4. Average<br />5. Long
|-
| '''High''' || 6. Short<br />7. Average<br />8. Long
|-
| &nbsp; || 9. Confused
|}
:The direction from which the swell is coming should be recorded.

== Sea states in marine engineering ==
In engineering applications, sea states are often characterized by the following two parameters:

* The ''[[significant wave height]]'' ''H''<sub>1/3</sub>  — the mean [[wave height]] of the highest third of the waves.<ref>{{cite book |last=Munk |first=W.H. |title=Proposed uniform procedure for observing waves and interpreting instrument records |publisher=Wave Project at the [[Scripps Institution of Oceanography]] |year=1944 |location=La Jolla, California}}</ref>
* The mean ''[[wave period]]'', ''T''<sub>1</sub>.

In addition to the short-term wave statistics presented above, long-term sea state statistics are often given as a joint frequency table of the significant wave height and the mean wave period. From the long and short-term statistical distributions, it is possible to find the extreme values expected over a given number of years by fitting a extreme value distribution.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Aarnes |first=Ole Johan |last2=Breivik |first2=Øyvind |last3=Reistad |first3=Magnar |date=2012 |title=Wave Extremes in the Northeast Atlantic |url=https://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00132.1 |journal=Journal of Climate |language=en |volume=25 |issue=5 |pages=1529–1543 |doi=10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00132.1 |issn=0894-8755|hdl=1956/9253 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The extreme value distribution can then inform an engineer about the most extreme significant wave height to be expected during a lifetime of a ship or offshore structure. Using the [[Response amplitude operator|response amplitude operators]] of the ship, the engineer can then use the extremes in significant wave height and wave period to calculate the most extreme loads that the ship should be able to withstand. Withstanding significant wave heights that happen on average once in 100 years or once in 1000 years is a common demand for design of ships and offshore structures.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jonathan |first=Philip |last2=Ewans |first2=Kevin |date=2013 |title=Statistical modelling of extreme ocean environments for marine design: A review |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S002980181300019X |journal=Ocean Engineering |language=en |volume=62 |pages=91–109 |doi=10.1016/j.oceaneng.2013.01.004}}</ref>

== See also  ==
* [[Beaufort scale]]
* [[Cross sea]]
* [[Douglas sea scale]]

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== General and cited references ==
* {{citation
| last       = Bowditch
| first      = Nathaniel
| author-link = Nathaniel Bowditch
| series     = H.O. publication No. 9
| title      = [[Bowditch's American Practical Navigator|American Practical Navigator]]
| edition    = revised
| year       = 1938
| publisher  = United States Hydrographic Office
| oclc       = 31033357 }}
* {{Citation
| last      = Faltinsen
| first     = O. M.
| title     = Sea Loads on Ships and Offshore Structures
| publisher = [Cambridge University Press]
| year      = 1990
| isbn      = 0-521-45870-6 }}

{{Physical oceanography}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Marine meteorology]]
[[Category:Meteorological phenomena]]
[[Category:Oceanography]]